Red Planet Bloodsuckers
by CrypticGirl
Summary: The Rebels decide to investigate Mars, which shows signs of life. The general is a vampire who claims to be a descendant of Dracula. The truth is unknown, but Vegeta is bitten by the general and is on the verge of joining the Undead. Ch 3 added 02.11.09
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Most of the characters herein belong to their respective owners, though I'm not going to go over every one. The OC's, Jenny, Hallie, Jade, etc., belong to me. However, Ruth, Robyn, and Rachel belong to a former writing partner of mine whom I haven't heard from in years.

_Mars_

_The Rebels are still on their way to Earth, but along the way, they have to pass Mars. There's a lot of activity going on there, so I'm sure the Rebels will be sidetracked to investigate. After all, who wouldn't investigate the possibility of life on the red planet?_

_These are the words of Canis Lupus._

-------------------

Fulgore sat on the bridge monitoring the ship's course for Earth. The ship was currently running on autopilot, but Fulgore still liked to keep an eye on things. It was more like his duty.

Fulgore looked up at the video monitor, which showed what was just ahead. Displayed on the screen was a red planet.

"Whoa..." Fulgore told himself. "A red planet...that has to be Mars!"

A moment of silence passed as the cyborg continued to stare at the red planet.

"Zuna Lord..." Fulgore went on. "The others will be excited about this. Hey, Jenny!"

He opened his communication channel as he contacted the Rebel leader.

"What is it, Fulgore?" Jenny responded.

"You've gotta come to the bridge. I have something exciting to show you."

"I'm on my way." Jenny closed the channel.

As Fulgore waited for her to arrive, the door behind him slid open, and Yamcha stepped onto the bridge.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

Fulgore looked back at him. "Not quite the person I was looking for, but...take a look at this."

Yamcha sat on the plush leather chair next to the cyborg and looked at the screen. "What is it?"

"See that red planet? That's Mars."

"Cool. So what's so exciting about it?"

"It means that Earth isn't too far off. Earth is the third planet in our solar system, while Mars is the fourth."

"Ah, I see. So you're excited about being closer to Earth."

"Yeah, that, too."

At that moment, the door slid open again, and Jenny entered the bridge.

"Now there's the person I'm looking for," Fulgore remarked.

Jenny smiled at the remark as she joined him. "So what's up?"

"Check this out." Fulgore pointed at the planet on the video screen.

Jenny's eyes widened. "Is that Mars?"

"It sure is. That means that we should be reaching Earth soon."

"Great. Let me know when we get there." Jenny turned and began to leave the room.

Fulgore pressed some buttons, applying a heat vision to the screen, causing the onscreen planet to turn blue. He then zoomed in on the planet until he saw tiny green dots moving across the surface like bugs.

"Wait a minute!" he called out. "There are life signs down there!"

Jenny stopped. "What? That's impossible!"

"Are you serious!?" Yamcha asked.

"Yeah. The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that supports life," Jenny told him.

"Should we take a look?

"Probably...if there's a general down there, we can't pass him up, can we?"

"But how do we know that it's safe for us?"

"Let me take a look," Fulgore said.

He examined the planet on the video screen again, this time using his own cybernetic vision. A blue grid seemed to form around the planet.

"Ah, I see. It's protected by a dome."

"A dome?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, like the ones that protected the space colonies Terra Venture and Arturus."

"Oh, I see," Jenny nodded. "That makes sense."

"Well, should we call the others?" Yamcha asked.

"Not yet. I'm just going to take a look right now."

"Well, I'm going with you."

"Okay. How about you, Fulgore?"

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on things," Fulgore said.

"Okay, let's go." Pressing on the rings, Jenny and Yamcha left the bridge in a teleport beam.

They reappeared on the surface of the red planet. They stared in awe at the red rocky field meeting the bright blue sky. Surprisingly, the sun felt warm, even from this distance, and they could feel the soothing breeze blowing through them. Up ahead, Jenny could see what looked like brown skyscrapers in the distance.

"I guess our touchdown point was a bit off," Jenny remarked.

"Look, there's a signpost ahead," Yamcha said.

The pair ran up to the wooden signpost that was set up ahead.

PLANET: Mars  
GENERAL: Dracon, Descendent of Dracula.

"Descendent of Dracula?" Yamcha asked. "Does this mean we're going up against vampires now?"

"It sure does," a voice said from behind.

Jenny and Yamcha spun around, startled, as a wolf wizard appeared behind them.

"Don't ever do that!" Jenny cried.

Canis suppressed a laugh. "Sorry. Anyway, yes, Mars is now home to Dracon and his undead army."

"So...is there anything in particular we need to know about them?"

"Not much. You know enough about vampires; weakness to garlic, water, etc. kill them by driving a wooden stake through their hearts. Well, that was in the past."

"How are we going to find wood on this planet?" Yamcha asked.

"You won't. That's one reason why this planet was the ideal home for them."

"I see..." Jenny and Yamcha nodded.

"But you may have some silver lying around," Canis continued. "Silver is just as fatal to these vampires. So just drive a silver stake through their hearts. Or chop their heads off; that'll work, too."

Jenny looked at him sideways. "Uh...no thanks."

Canis shrugged. "Well, it's your call."

"Hey Canis..." Yamcha said. "This Dracon guy...he really is a descendent of Dracula?"

"That's right."

"So that means that Dracula...really existed?"

"That's right. I see you've heard of him."

"Heard of him? Who hasn't heard of Dracula? He's a legend!" Yamcha exclaimed. "At least, I thought he was. No...I don't believe it. I can't believe it. There's no way. No way in hell."

"This isn't hell," Jenny remarked. "This is where you're sent to when you've been bad in hell."

Yamcha looked at her. "You had to go and say that, didn't you?"

Jenny only returned the look.

Canis smiled. "And I never knew that you guys were _sooo _bad."

Jenny and Yamcha now gave him a similar look.

"Well, I'll let you guys choose the next course of action," Canis said. "I'll check on you later. Ciao."

As the wolf wizard vanished in a puff of smoke, Jenny and Yamcha exchanged glances with a shrug.

"I don't see how he can be so casual about this whole thing," Yamcha said.

"Who knows," Jenny replied. "Let's head back for now. We'd better check this guy out before we challenge him."

"Right."

The pair pressed on their rings, teleporting away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Vegeta reappeared on the surface of Mars, right in front of the building that Jenny and Yamcha had seen from the red field. Upon entry, the Saiyan prince stepped onto a tiled dance floor where a crowd of goth people were dancing to the techno music. Most of them were dancing in pairs, sliding against one another in sensual ways. A few of them danced solo, also moving in an alluring manner. The room was mostly dark, except for the neon colored lights shining from the ceiling above.

But Vegeta didn't care about the lights, the music, or the dancing. All he cared about was finding the general.

Suddenly, the room fell silent, and the lights returned to normal. Looking around, Vegeta noticed that the goth people were now facing him, smirking.

"Well, it looks like we have a guest," a voice said from behind the crowd.

The crowd parted up ahead, revealing a young man with a black silk shirt and black denim jeans and boots. He had the skinny body of an adolescent, but his face had some slight facial hair. Finally, his eyes gave a very cold stare.

"I'm Dracon," the man said flatly. "Who might you be?"

"I am Vegeta, prince of the powerful Saiyan race."

"I thought the Saiyans were extinct," Dracon said. "So you're not really a prince of anything if the other Saiyans are dead."

"How dare you speak to me that way!" Vegeta growled. "I'm proud of the Saiyan blood that runs through my veins!"

"The blood that runs through your veins..." Dracon whispered softly to himself, his mouth salivating. "Come here."

Vegeta's eyes widened slightly out of curiosity. "Hmm?"

Dracon half smiled. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of me?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed now. "I fear no one!"

Dracon shrugged. "Well then?"

Vegeta calmly walked across the dance floor to where Dracon stood. Several of the goth people snickered softly around him. Vegeta stepped over to Dracon, stopping only an inch in front of him. Dracon shifted his eyes downward, studying Vegeta's firm neck.

_The blood that runs through your veins..._

"What...are you doing?" Vegeta asked, his heart beating faster.

Opening his mouth slightly, Dracon formed a set of razor sharp fangs. He watched hungrily as the blood pumped even faster through the Saiyan's veins. The people on the dance floor grinned silently, knowing what Dracon was about to do.

In a sudden motion, Dracon lunged forward, thrusting his fangs into Vegeta's neck. It happened so fast that Vegeta didn't even have a chance to cry out. Dracon took a moment to savor the taste before pulling away. Vegeta backed off, holding his bleeding neck with an expression of horror that only a select few would see on the Saiyan prince's face.

Dracon wiped some blood from his lips with his fingertips. "Incredible...your power is outstanding, Vegeta. I can taste it in your blood."

Vegeta said nothing, but only continued to stare at the vampire with his horrified expression.

"What's the matter?" Dracon asked. "Are you afraid that your friends will see the mark I've left on you? Don't worry, I can fix that."

He led the Saiyan prince across the room over to a showerhead. Dracon pulled down on the chain underneath, and red blood poured from the showerhead, splattering all over Vegeta in a matter of seconds.

"There, now you can go back to your friends and pretend that this never happened," Dracon said. "I'll see you when you come back to join us."

Vegeta's facial muscles twitched as he slowly managed to give Dracon an angry glare. "Grrr..."

-----------------------

Back on the Rebel Rack bridge, Jenny, Fulgore, and Yamcha sat and pondered, wondering whether to challenge the general. There was no real need to, and they were all anxious to get to Earth. Fulgore sat by the main computer terminal, while the other two sat on either side of the room. The room was dead silent as it stank of boredom. Yamcha began to hum a random tune to himself. After listening for a moment, Jenny began to laugh softly.

"What's so funny?" Yamcha asked.

"Just because we're sitting here doing nothing, there's no telling what'll cross our minds," Jenny responded.

"Ohh, that is kind of funny."

At that moment, the door slid open, revealing the blood-splattered Saiyan prince. He gave a cold stare as he stepped onto the bridge.

Jenny stood up, wide-eyed. "What the...?"

Yamcha stood up as well. "Zuna Lord! What the hell happened to you!?"

"You went down to Mars, didn't you?" Fulgore asked.

Vegeta said nothing, but only stepped forward.

"Hey, stop right there!" Jenny cried. "You're getting blood on the carpet!"

Yamcha held his nose. "And you stink, too."

"You can tell us what happened later," Jenny said. "Right now, just get cleaned up first. You look like shit."

Without word or gesture, Vegeta turned and left the room. Jenny let out an exasperated sigh as she looked down at the bloody footprints on the floor.

Fulgore got down on the floor, examining the blood with his enhanced cybernetic vision. "Well, it's definitely not Vegeta's blood."

"He must have killed a lot of people," Yamcha said. "Maybe he's already killed the general."

"I doubt it. When Vegeta kills someone, he disintegrates them into nothingness. He doesn't spill much blood, if any at all."

"Something must have happened to him," Jenny said. "Did you see how he was acting just now?"

"Yeah, he wasn't pissing and moaning like he usually does," Yamcha pointed out.

"He didn't even say a word," Jenny added.

"Sounds like we need to keep an eye on him," Fulgore said.

"We'll do that," Jenny agreed, looking down at the footprints again. "Meanwhile, we'll get this mess cleaned up."

"Right..." Fulgore and Yamcha nodded.

--------------------------

The Rebels divided the task of cleaning up the bloody footprints that Vegeta had tracked onto the ship. Pico had an easier task – mopping up the blood from the dining room floor. He dipped the mop into the bucket of water, squeezing out the excess water. As he slapped the wet mop onto the floor, he heard a rasping scream.

"Aaahh!!"

Pico paused upon hearing the scream. Of course he recognized the voice that belonged to a certain Saiyan whom he bitterly despised. Pico listened to the screams; he couldn't tell if they were from anger or agony. One reason Pico despised was Vegeta was because of how dangerous he was. Might as well see what's going on. Sticking the mop into the bucket and leaning it against the wall, Pico left the dining room.

---------------------

Vegeta stood in the shower, screaming in agony as the water was stinging his flesh. The Saiyan prince hunched over, watching the water and blood sinking down into the drain.

"Argh!" he cried out again, holding his neck where Dracon had bitten him.

Pico stepped into the room with his shotgun in hand. He slowly walked towards the shower, reaching out for the curtain. Then, in a sudden motion, he pulled back the curtain, flashing the Saiyan prince in his naked glory.

"Gah!" both Pico and Vegeta gasped.

Pico closed the curtain, then fell backwards, shielding his face with his arm. _Zuna Lord, what the hell was I thinking!?_

Vegeta crouched down, covering himself the best he could. "What the hell was that for!?" he yelled.

"I was trying to find out why you were screaming so much!" Pico responded.

"That's..." Vegeta held in his cries as the water still burned his skin. "The water's...too hot!"

"What!? That's all!?" Pico became even more furious. "If you lower the temperature, it wouldn't hurt so much! And here I was, worrying about you..."

"Don't be absurd! I'm a Saiyan!" Vegeta yelled. "I don't need you worrying about me! Now get out!"

_That sounds more like the Vegeta I know,_ Pico thought.

"GET OUT!!!" Vegeta screamed again.

Pico stood up, backing out of the room. "With pleasure. I wouldn't want to watch you shower anyway."

The alien turtle left the room, running down the corridor back to the dining room. As he tried to play off the incident by resuming his mopping chore, he suddenly felt a surge of pain exploding in his abdomen.

"Ugh!" Pico held his stomach as he leaned against the wall, sinking to the floor. _Why does this happen whenever I get worked up?_

As he rested for the moment, he could hear soft footsteps approaching from the hallway. Pico pulled his shotgun across his lap.

"Who goes there?" he asked, picking himself up into a crouch, aiming his shotgun at the doorway. "Vegeta?"

Another moment passed as Arbin stepped into the room.

"Oh, it's you." Pico stood up and leaned against the wall, setting his shotgun aside.

"Sorry..." Arbin leaned against the wall next to the alien turtle. "Are you okay?"

"No..." Pico responded flatly.

"Hmm...is there anything I can do?"

"No..."

"Well...maybe you can tell me what's on your mind?"

"It's nothing...I...I just had a shock to my system."

"Really? What kind of shock?" Arbin asked.

"Well, I...I saw Vegeta...naked...in the shower."

"What? Wh...why were you seeing him naked?"

"I heard him screaming...so I went to see what was going on. It turned out that the water was just too hot for him...or so he said." Pico clenched a fist. "That lame son of a bitch...can't even take a little heat..."

"Speaking of Vegeta, Jenny warned us to keep an eye on him," Arbin pointed out. "That something may have happened to him on Mars. The general is a vampire named Dracon...who claims to be a descendent of Dracula."

"Heh, that's a laugh," Pico scoffed. "Everyone knows that Dracula didn't exist."

"Well...we don't really know that. Dracula was a legend...we don't really know if it's true or not. But truth or not, we do know that Dracon is indeed a vampire."

"That would explain a lot." Pico glanced at his companion. "I suppose we'll have to keep an eye on Vegeta."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After getting out of the shower and getting back into his skin-tight Saiyan uniform, Vegeta stumbled to his bedroom. He clutched the vampire mark on his neck as he fell to his knees.

_Soon...it happens soon, Vegeta,_ Dracon's voice sounded within Vegeta's mind. _Soon you will join my army of the undead._

"No....I will never...." Vegeta stood up and staggered to his bed, falling on top of it. "I am....a Saiyan....now and forever!"

_Oh, don't try to fight it, Vegeta. It'll be much less painful if you give in._

Vegeta rolled onto his back, pulling the covers up to his chest.

"No....I'll never give in!" he growled. "Never!!"

----------------------

Several hours later, Hallie entered Vegeta's bedroom. By now, Vegeta lay on the floor, still wrapped in the thin sheets. Hallie knelt down beside him.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Wh....what do you mean?" Vegeta responded, his speech a little slurred.

"You were screaming in the shower, and then talking in your sleep," Hallie said. "And....something _weird _happened to your face. BWAH HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

Ignoring the boasting laugh, Vegeta scrambled to his feet and left the room. Hallie followed eagerly as Vegeta dashed down the hall into the bathroom. As he glanced into the mirror, he saw a marble-sized zit right next to his nose.

"Wh....what is this!?" he gasped.

"Oh...that's just a terrible, horrible, gross, disgusting, gruesome, nasty, butt-ugly zit!" Hallie replied, grinning mischeviously.

Vegeta stared at his reflection for a moment as the other little girls joined Hallie in the doorway; the twin sisters Robyn and Rachel, and the timid little girl named Rebecca.

"How do I get rid of it?" Vegeta asked. "Help me get rid of it!"

"Hmm, I think we can arrange that," Hallie said. "Right, girls?"

"Yeah!" Robyn said. "Let's borrow one of Mommy's magazines!"

"Great idea!" Rachel agreed.

"Um...okay," Rebecca said, uncertain.

----------------------

Several minutes later, Vegeta found himself sitting in a chair in the dining room. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling while the girls studied the magazine and gathered the necessary ingredients.

"Let's see...." Rachel mused as she set the items on the table. "Mustard....mayonnaise....chopped onion...."

Robyn opened the synethetron, a device that creates any kind of food. She opened the door, pulling out a plate of sliced cucumbers. "I've got the cucumbers!"

Rachel began to mix the ingredients into a large bowl, while Robyn placed a cucumber slice over each of Vegeta's eyes. Finally, Rachel took the odd concoction, smearing it on Vegeta's face.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing!?" Vegeta asked.

"Of course!" Robyn said. "I used to see people putting cucumbers on their eyes all the time."

"Yeah, it says right here...." Rachel pointed at the magazine page. "Oops..."

"What is it?" Hallie asked, glancing at it.

"This is a salad dressing recipe..." Rachel muttered, blushing.

"Whaaaaat!?" Vegeta howled, humiliated.

"You've got the wrong page, Rachel!" Hallie cried.

All four girls huddled around the magazine as Hallie flipped through the pages.

"Here we go," she said. "Place a steaming hot towel over the face to open the pores."

The girls exchanged glances and shrugged. Then they obtained a hot white towel.

"Okay, Veggie, this is gonna be hot," Rachel said.

The twins carefully laid the towel over Vegeta's face. The Saiyan prince let out a long, muffled scream of agony. Robyn tried to grip the corner of the towel with her fingertips.

"Ow, that's hot!" she cried out.

The girls waited a few moments before pulling the towel off Vegeta's face.

"Hmm, this isn't working at all," Rachel mused.

"Hey look, there's some more over here," Rebecca called, pointing to the mark on Vegeta's neck.

"Really? Lemme see!" Robyn moved over to look at the mark. "Wait....that's not....Hallie, you'd better look at this."

"What is it?" Hallie went to look at the mark as well. "Zuna Lord....that's a vampire bite!"

"Vampire bite!?" the twins cried in unison.

"That's right," Hallie said. "The general on Mars is a vampire! Vegeta must have been bitten, which means he's gonna become a vampire!"

"A vampire!?" the twins cried in unison.

"So what do we do?" Rebecca asked.

"We have to tell the others!" Hallie declared. "Hurry!"

All four girls let out an ear-piercing scream as they fled from the room. Vegeta sat up in the chair, straining to get to his feet.

_It's time, Vegeta! Come to me!_

"N...no!" Vegeta cried.

He too fled from the room, dashing into the bathroom again. Glancing in the mirror, he noticed the razor sharp fangs that had formed in his mouth....

--------------

The little girls ran down the corridor, still screaming at the top of their lungs. Pico stepped into the hallway, blocking their path.

"Do you think you can scream any louder?" he asked, annoyed.

The girls paused for a moment and glanced at each other.

"Okay," Hallie said simply.

The girls let out an even louder scream.

"Enough!!" Pico yelled as he aimed his handgun into the air and fired a shot, startling the girls. "Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it!? Now what is the problem!?"

"It's Vegeta!" Hallie said. "He's been bitten by a vampire! We saw the mark on his neck!"

"Hmm, I was suspecting as much," Pico said. "He's been acting strange ever since he got back from Mars."

"So what do we do?"

"You can tell the others. I'll keep an eye on the Saiyan."

"Okay!"

The twins ran down the hall, while Pico ran in the opposite direction. Hallie moved to follow the twins, but Rebecca stopped her.

"Hallie, wait....what's sarcasm?" she asked.

"Um...." Hallie paused, trying to think of an explanation that an uneducated little girl can understand. "It's when....you say something, but you really mean something else."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like Pico asked if we could scream louder, but he really wanted us to shut up."

"But why would he do that?"

"I don't know; he's just weird that way."

"Oh."

"Well, let's hurry and find the others," Hallie said.

Rebecca nodded. "Okay."

-------------------

_Women...._ Pico mused to himself as he dashed down the hallway to Vegeta's bedroom. Pulling out his handgun, he stopped at the doorway. He then quickly stepped into the room, aiming his gun carefully. However, the room was empty.

_Oh, that's right..._ Pico sighed. _He could be anywhere...._

Suddenly, something shoved him from behind.

"Ah!" Pico gasped as he stumbled across the room. Straightening himself, he aimed his gun at the person who shoved him....the Saiyan prince....now a vampire.

"Get back, or I'll drill your damn skull!" Pico growled.

"Raaaarrrgh!!" Vegeta lunged at the alien turtle, grabbing his shoulders, and going for his neck, but Pico threw him off.

"I said get back!" Pico staggered back to the doorway, aiming his gun at the Saiyan prince again and holding his stomach. _Damn, not again....not now!_

Vegeta hissed at him, bearing his vampire fangs.

"You bastard...." Pico snarled.

Before Vegeta could taunt Pico any farther, he heard Dracon calling out to him again.

_The time has come, Vegeta. Come to me!_

With another vicious hiss, Vegeta vanished from the room.

"What!?" Pico gasped, moving to the center of the room, still aiming his gun in all directions. "This could be a problem. Vegeta is bad enough as he normally is. But as a vampire....he's too dangerous."

Concluding that the Saiyan was gone, Pico turned and awkwardly left the room.

---------------

The twins ran down the corridor, running into their parents' room.

"Mommy! Daddy!" they cried.

"Wh...what is it?" Ruth asked, sensing their sheer panic.

"Vegeta's been bitten by a vampire!" Robyn said.

"We saw the marks on his neck!" Rachel added.

Ruth looked up at Carlos. "Zuna Lord..."

"That sounds serious," Carlos said.

"Mommy, what do we do?" Robyn asked.

"Don't worry," Ruth assured her. "As a Baptist-Christian, I know a few ways to deal with vampires."

"Like shoving a stick through their hearts?" Rachel asked.

"For enemy vampires, maybe," Ruth said. "But we don't want to kill Vegeta. We need to cure him. A nice dose of holy water should do the trick."

"But Vegeta's a jerk!" Robyn protested. "Why should we cure him?"

"I'd rather go with the stick," Rachel added.

Ruth sighed. "I know Vegeta's not the friendliest person we know, but he's still one of us. He's a powerful fighter, and we'll need his help in future battles. Besides, Vegeta may not be the nicest person, but he certainly isn't the meanest either."

"Ah, good point," Robyn admitted.

Rachel looked around. "Hey, where'd Hallie and Rebecca go?"

"Maybe they already told Jenny," Robyn said.

"Looks like now would be a good time to challenge the general," Carlos said.

"You're right," Ruth agreed. "Let's get with the others."

The twins nodded, then they all left the room.


End file.
